Thursday, August 18, 2011

In which we try to figure out what Sly and Doris have planned for their cats

March 2010 At Sam's dad's memorial service, we discover that one of the issues Sam and his brother faced was what to do with their father's dog. Mr SD died. His dog did not. Fortunately, Sam's brother and sister in law decided to keep the dog. They already have two. What's one more? That attitude works when you are talking about nice pets.

Primo and I have been working on our wills. My big concern that my hard-earned money not go to Sly and Doris, which might happen if Primo and I die at the same time and we do not have a will. Well, I have had a will since I was 25, but Primo didn't have one.

One of the first things I put into some special instructions to my sister (our executor) was what to do about the cats.* And this was before Sam's dad died. You can't abandon your pets and you shouldn't make your executor find a new place for them to live. There are enough other things to deal with.

But when I read Sly and Doris' will, I saw no provision for their cats.

Primo is the executor of their will. They think it's a privilege. I think it will be a pain in the neck, given how much crap they have, although even if Primo weren't the executor, he would still probably be stuck cleaning out that house.

Their cats are awful. Well, one of them is. Medea, aka as "Puff" in another post, is a bitch. She bites and scratches and attacks. Snow, the other one, is just boring. They are both longhairs, which means lots and lots of shedding.

We already have two cats. Two gently, sweet cats who are half the size of Medea and Snow. Two cats who don't know how to fight. When they play fight each other, their claws are always retracted.

Medea would have them for breakfast.

We are not taking those cats.

I will give them to a shelter before I will have them in my house.

I ask Primo to ask his mom and dad what provisions they have made for the cats. "Make sure they know that we are not taking them!" I say.

Six months later, Sly asks Primo if we will take their cats. Now.

Primo says No way Jose.




* Give them back to the purebred cat rescue place where we got them along with $2,000.

3 comments:

  1. If they don't want their cats, they should donate them to a shelter, along with a little money for their upkeep, not dump them on you.

    You are very smart to think about your own cats' futures if something were to happen to you guys. Most people don't plan that far in advance.

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    1. Here Golddigger writes -- "Their cats are awful. Well, one of them is. Snow, the other one, is just boring."

      Yet in the NY Times on 5 Feb she comments to the article The Pet Problem -- "My husband's parents have two cats that we do not want.
      (They are nasty, mean cats and our cats are sweet. We won't do that to our cats.)"

      The whole story is here:
      http://diaryofagolddigger.blogspot.com/2011/08/in-which-we-try-to-figure...

      "Boring" is not "nasty, mean" nor a justification to be condemned to a shelter for convenient killing. Both "boring" and "nasty, mean" can be corrected with care and love. Of course, that requires someone who does care and love. At least be honest about it.

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  2. I should reeeally see about writing a will...

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